Category: Design Deontology
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Design as a morality of form
What had Jan Tschichold and his adversary Max Bill in common? Both equated form with morality. During design’s high modernist phase, it was usual to talk about form in terms of morality, personal but, above all, civic. Good form was a moral and not so much a political objective. On the old form/content divide, politics…
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Defining social, moral and political Borders: the Text/Image divide in Graphic Design
One of the crucial social functions of graphic design is enforcing the boundaries between text and image. These limits form a profound political, social, moral, and religious frontier. Within the field of graphic design, the demarcation lines separating text and image are crucial in defining what falls within the discipline of graphic design and what…
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What about Ukraine?
It has been challenging for me to think about the implications of Ukraine’s war on graphic design. I haven’t read any texts or interventions on the subject. Before writing this post, I took a look at Aiga Eye on Design and Design Observer and found nothing. The same at Futuress. I don’t know if I…
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Form is political
What are we speaking about when we speak about the politics of design? The “First Things First Manifesto,” published originally in 1964 and updated periodically, is an excellent place to search for an answer. In brief, the manifesto appeals to designers to do less publicity work for corporate clients, choosing instead to solve public and…
Unseen by Design 